The hiatus is the encounter of 2 vowels that are pronounced in different syllables. The term hiatus is of Latin origin hiatus which means “opening” or “separation.”
In grammar, it is important to highlight that the strong or open vowels are A, E, O and, the weak or closed vowels are I and U.
By virtue of the above, the hiatus can be:
- Simple hiatus occurs with the union of 2 strong vowels or 2 weak vowels, for example: mu-se-o, po-e-ma, among others.
- Accent hiatus is observed with the union of a weak tonic vowel with a strong atonic vowel or vice versa, as long as the weak vowel carries the tonic accent such as: son-rí-e, ca-í-da, fi-lo-so- fí-a, etc.
It should be noted that the letter “H” between 2 vowels does not prevent the hiatus from forming, for example: bu-ho.
As for poetry, the hiatus in relation to the metric of the poem is known as sinalefa, it consists of pronouncing together the last vowel of a word and the first vowel of the next word, achieving a verse with a further extension brief but extending the metric of it, an example of the allusive is: “He left for Europe.”
The term hiatus may be present in several contexts. In geology, hiatus corresponds to the geological period during which no sedimentation occurs causing a stratigraphic lagoon.
For its part, in the area of anatomy, it is the space or cavity that exists between some formation of the human body, for example: the aortic hiatus is in front of the T12 vertebra allowing the aorta to pass through the azygos vein to the right and the thoracic duct in the middle.
Also, the term hiatus is disruption in space or time, for example: there was a hiatus in my studies.
Hiatus and diphthong
The hiatus is when there is a separation between syllables that end and start successively with vowels in the cases mentioned above. In turn, the diphthong is a set of 2 vowels, one strong and one weak, or 2 weak that are pronounced in a single syllable such as: pai-sa-je, cau-sa, nie-ve, ETC.
Hiatus hernia
In the area of medicine, hiatal hernia arises when a part of the stomach passes through the diaphragm through the hiatus and enters the thoracic cavity. Hiatal hernia can affect people of any age due to a congenital hiatus defect, stress, obesity, aging, constipation, among other causes.
